YONSEI UNIVERSITY has had a large influx of international students in recent years with about 5,000 foreign students enrolled in the school’s undergraduate and postgraduate program[1]. The ratio of 1 international student to every 5 local students continues to narrow as the university grows in popularity. Yonsei has acted accordingly to the developments in student diversity by creating programs that both accommodate and attract foreign students. One of them is the Yonsei Global One-Stop Service Center (GOSC), an all-purpose helpline for international students and faculty members.

Brief background

   The GOSC was officially established in September 2022—roughly two months ago. Along with the launch of its website, it opened a counter area labeled the “Global Service Desk” for international students to personally ask staff members for help. It is located in the Global Lounge of Baekyang Nuri, otherwise known as the Commons. In their own words, the GOSC was created to “support the international community at Yonsei University.” It also aims to ease foreigners’ transition into Korea by providing a support system for all their queries and concerns. Assistance for their academic endeavors is another goal that the GOSC aims to achieve with aid based on school activities and off-campus internships. The center falls under the Office of International Affairs, and is led by its very own director. Unlike the International Affairs Team that manages exchange student programs and bilateral partnerships with overseas universities, the GOSC is catered for more specific issues concerning students and professors of Yonsei.

Main features

   As mentioned earlier, the GOSC provides aid for both students and faculty members, largely concerning visa applications. The type of aid varies with the former receiving support for student visas, and the latter receiving support for working visas. Visa assistance mainly consists of information notices, documentation, and general aid during the application process. If offline support is required, the GOSC’s Global Service Desk is a convenient alternative. Brief consultations may be provided, and simple questions are often answered by the GOSC staff manning the booths, with services provided in both English and Chinese. Next to the Global Service Desk is the Global Lounge. As the name reveals, it is a social lounge for international students to host events such as language exchanges. It has a sitting area with a capacity of 150 people, and it also carries a discussion area. The GOSC even offers online services through KakaoTalk and WeChat; an entire channel intended to “post important reminders, deadlines, and events,” according to its website. Moreover, the center produces English-language video contents about Yonsei University for its YouTube channel. The themes of these videos range from campus tours to student interviews. 

   The center focuses on aiding Yonsei’s international community within a vast majority of areas—primarily campus and Korean life. Through its website, people are provided data specific to the university’s academic system with information on Yonsei events, scholarships, school transcript requests, and more. Outside of academics, the center also offers aid on campus facilities and services. There are descriptions for buildings in both the international and Sinchon campuses, and housing information in the dormitories are offered. The center also lists the career and counseling services available for all international students. More specific concerns may be addressed through its face-to-face service desk. 

   Other than campus-specific information, data regarding life in Korea is also archived in its website. There happens to be an entire step-by-step walkthrough on what students and scholars may do regarding registration upon their acceptance into Yonsei—both before and after one’s arrival to the campus. Assistance is also offered for health care and insurance as well as social security; this includes inquiries about the application process and the actual services. It provides basic information on the Korean public transportation system, cell phone plans, laws, essential contact numbers, and more. The GOSC has a comprehensive list of services that is seemingly helpful for the institute’s international population; students have already established opinions on certain aspects of the center. 

Student response

   With its relatively new status as a Yonsei University program, the GOSC’s reputation remains uncertain. The Yonsei Annals reached out to several members of the institute’s international community that have used the services provided by the center. 

   Taylor Simmons (Jr., Film and Media Studies, Amherst College) is an inbound exchange student that started her first semester at Yonsei this fall. Being her first time in Korea, she was relatively unaware of how to proceed with the institute’s academic system. “I was really confused about the credit transferring procedure. I did not know how or who to contact here at Yonsei, so it gave me a lot of anxiety,” she said before explaining how someone suggested for her to visit the Global Service Desk. Simmons was skeptical at first because she did not know anyone to vouch for the desk’s usefulness, but she had no other option. The desk had extremely long queues during the first few days of the semester, so she resorted to waiting until the following week. She continued, “The inquiry process was relatively easy. I just walked up to the desk at the Commons and asked them my question regarding credit transfers.” Simmons recalled their warm and welcoming demeanor, and expressed her surprise with the center’s efficiency. “My visit probably took less than ten minutes. I never felt hassled or inconvenienced.” When asked about the overall helpfulness of the Global Service Desk—and in relation, the GOSC—she explained that she has not used enough of the service to carry a fully formed opinion. 

   Sender Batnyagt (Fresh., UIC, Underwood Div.) decided to look through the GOSC website because of her confusion regarding student visa renewals. She was not aware of the deadlines and specifics of the documents she was required to prepare. Batnyagt first heard of the GOSC due to a notice in her division chatroom, and researched information on visa renewals with the help of the website. When asked about the features of the GOSC website, Batnyagt replied, “They had an entire page dedicated to visa renewals, so it was not hard to find.” After clicking into the window, she was impressed to find several more tabs specific to the application process such as foreigner registrations, re-entry permits, and all the necessary forms for each service. “The information was very concise and helpful. I recommend the website to most of my international friends at Yonsei.”

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   Yonsei University’s growing international community is a direct result of the administration’s efforts to evolve into a global institute. Among these efforts are the establishment of programs and services catered to foreigners. The GOSC is a solid attempt at improving the quality of life for international students and faculty at Korea, and more of the center’s features are expected to be revealed in the coming semesters.   

[1] Quacquarelli Symonds